Standby Generator Installation

Why backup power matters here

Losing power in town is an inconvenience. Losing it out here, in February, on a rural line, is a different problem entirely.

No pump, no water

If you are on a well, your water is electric. The power goes and so does the tap, the shower and the toilet. Same story with a septic pump. It is the thing people forget until the first outage, and it is the single most common reason folks out here call us about backup power.

Heat in a North Idaho winter

Furnaces need electricity to run, and so do most pellet and wood stove blowers. A cold snap and a downed line at the same time is how pipes freeze and a house gets away from you. Backup power keeps the heat on while the crews work.

Rural lines take longer to come back

Wind, ice and timber bring lines down out here, and the crews have a lot of ground to cover. We are not going to quote you an outage statistic we cannot back up — but if you have lived through a winter around Deary, Potlatch or Plummer, you already know the restoration order does not start with your road.

A freezer full of food

A chest freezer with an elk in it is real money. So is a fridge full of groceries when the nearest store is a drive away. A generator circuit on the freezer is one of the cheapest pieces of a backup plan and usually the first one we ask about.

Shops, farms and livestock

Stock tanks, heaters, milk coolers, shop compressors — agricultural and commercial loads do not pause for an outage. We plan backup for outbuildings the same way we plan it for a house: figure out what has to stay alive, then size to it.

Working and living from home

Internet gear, a home office, medical equipment, a well and a furnace — the list of things that quietly assume the power is on adds up fast. Backup power is not about running the whole house. It is about deciding ahead of time what matters and making sure that part never blinks.

What we install

Whole-house standby, a hookup for the portable you already own, or just a proper plug in the right spot. All of it done under Idaho Electrical Contractor License #038428.

Standby generator with an automatic transfer switch A permanently set unit that starts itself when the line drops and shuts itself down when utility power comes back. The automatic transfer switch is the brain of it — it senses the outage, isolates you from the grid and moves your loads over without you doing a thing. That matters if you travel, work away from the place, or just do not want to be outside in a storm pulling a starter cord.
Manual transfer switch or generator inlet for a portable you already own No need to buy a new machine. We mount an inlet on the outside of the house and put a transfer switch at the panel, so you roll the generator out, run one cord and flip a switch. Clean, code-legal, and it ends the extension-cord-through-the-window routine for good. It also means you are never backfeeding the line, which is the dangerous way people do this on their own.
Generator plugs, RV and equipment receptacles A dedicated generator plug where you need it, a 30 or 50 amp RV receptacle on the side of the shop or the house, or the right outlet for welders and equipment. Small jobs, done right, in the spot that actually makes sense once you have walked it.
Diesel generator servicing If you have a diesel set on a shop, a farm or a commercial building, we service it. Not starting, not transferring, or just has not been looked at in a while — we will come see what it needs.
Load planning so the right circuits stay alive This is the part most people skip and then regret. Before anything gets ordered, we walk through what has to run: well pump, furnace, freezer, fridge, a few lights, the septic pump, the internet. Then we size the generator and the switch to that list. Sometimes the honest answer is that a smaller unit on the right circuits beats a big one on the wrong ones.

Backup power and your panel go together. If your service is already full, tired or undersized, the generator work usually starts there — see panel upgrades and service changes for how we handle that side of it. And if you are up north, we cover generator work in Coeur d'Alene and across Kootenai County too.

How the install goes

Four steps, no surprises, and a number that does not move between the estimate and the invoice.

Talk through what must stay on Call 208-987-0013 and tell us about the place. Well or city water, how you heat, what is in the freezer, whether there is a shop or livestock in the picture. That conversation decides the whole job — everything after this is sizing to your list instead of selling you a number off a shelf.
Free estimate Jesse comes out, looks at the panel, the meter, where a unit could sit and how far the gas and wire have to run. Then you get a written estimate covering the generator, the transfer switch, the wiring and the permit. Estimates are free, and the price quoted is the price billed — that is the whole deal, and it is why people call us back.
Set, wire and permit We set the pad and the unit, run the wire, install the transfer switch at the panel, and pull the permit so the work gets inspected. Gas hookup gets coordinated where it applies. The site gets cleaned up when we are done — you should not be able to tell we were there except for the new equipment.
Test under load A generator that has never been proven is just a guess. We run it, drop the utility, and watch the transfer switch actually move your loads over — then we walk you through starting it, exercising it and what to expect when it kicks on at two in the morning. You do not sign off on a machine you have not seen work.

What neighbors say

5.0 from 27 Google reviews

“Their customer service was excellent. Jesse arrived on time to perform the estimate for our Generator plug and a new outlet in our mud room.”

Sara Allen

Google review

“Jesse installed a RV power receptacle for the exterior of my building. He helped me determine the best location to install it, and he had it all finished very quickly. The receptacle is working great! I will go to him first when I need more electrical services.”

J Stivs

Google review

Generator questions we get

Do you install the transfer switch too?

Yes. The transfer switch is part of the job, not a separate call. It is the piece that keeps generator power and utility power from ever meeting, which protects your equipment and the line crews working to get your power back. We size it, set it, wire it and test it with the generator so the whole system is proven before we leave.

Can you hook up a portable generator I already have?

Yes, and it is a common job out here. We install a generator inlet on the outside of the house and a transfer switch at the panel, so you roll the generator out, plug in one cord and flip the switch. No extension cords run through a cracked window, and no backfeeding. Bring us the make and model and we will match the inlet and switch to it.

Do you service diesel generators?

Yes. We service diesel generators along with the standby units we install. If you have a diesel set on a shop, a farm or a commercial building and it is not starting, not transferring or has not been looked at in a while, give us a call and we will come see what it needs.

Do you pull permits for a generator install?

Yes. We pull the permit and the work gets inspected. Mountain City Electric holds Idaho Electrical Contractor License #038428 and is licensed and insured, and permitted work is how you know the install was done to code and how it stays clean on your record when you sell or refinance.

Want backup power before the next outage?

Call and we'll talk through what needs to stay on.

208-987-0013

Call now Request a free estimate